scientific nameDolichoderus taschenbergihabitatPrefer sandy soils that are associated with grasses or Jack Pine (Mackay, 1993). In Alberta the only record of this ant is from the Jack Pine forests near Opal.seasonalityMay to September.identificationEasily recognized from other ants by a shelf that points posteriorly on the propedeum (Fisher and Cover, 2007). Workers are ~3.5-4.3 mm long, with strongly shiny, reddish-black head, thorax and gaster (Wheeler and Wheeler, 1963). The main characters that separate Dolichoderus tashenbergi from other Dolichoderus species is that the antennal scape lacks erect hairs, the propedeum is dorsally subquadrate in shape and the first tergite on the gaster has 10 or more erect or suberect hairs (Mackay, 1993).life historyHave been reported to enslave other Dolichoderus species when founding a colony but also found colonies solitarily (Ortius, 1995). Colonies are polygynous and can have several thousand workers. Larvae pupate (Wheeler and Wheeler, 1963).conservationNot of concern.diet infoSubsist mostly on milking aphids and coccids, but will drink plant sap and supplement their diet with insects.rangeFound mostly in eastern North America, from Nova Scotia to Montana (Mackay, 1993). This Alberta record is the furthest north and west this species has been reported.taxonomic hierarchy